Archdiocese of
Archdiocesan Pastoral Council
May 19, 2007
The
Present: Archbishop John G. Vlazny, Fr. Dennis O’Donovan, and Members: Sr. Joyce Barsotti, Clint Bentz, Lois Cersovski, John Cooper, To-Ha Doan, Deacon Brett Edmonson, Thom Faller, Anthony Granados, Sam Jackson, Wendell James, Fr. Michael Johnston, Sue Klemenhagen, David Mastroieni, John Mikitka, Rick Nelson, Sr. Maureen Oliver, Gary Stump, Carmen Swan, and Ken Willett
Staff Present: Todd Cooper and Fr. Chuck Lienert
Absent: Marie D’Agrosa, and Fr. Gary Zerr (both Excused)
The twenty-fifth meeting of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council (APC) was called to order at 10:05am by the council chair, Clint Bentz.
Deacon Brett Edmonson led the opening prayer.
The minutes from the February 3, 2007 meeting of the APC were approved with corrections on page one (date) and page five (clarification). Prior to its approval, discussion of the immigration issue was added to the agenda.
ARCHBISHOP’S REPORT
Seminarians
Three
native Oregonians will be ordained to the priesthood on June 9, 2007: David
Brown, Jeff Meeuwsen, and Ron Nelson.
Next fall, the archdiocese will have about forty seminarians in
formation. One seminarian will study at
St. Patrick’s Seminary in
Clergy & Religious
Starting
July 2, there will be no priest in residence at
Sr. Mary Kim of the Vietnamese sisters – Adorers of the Holy Cross, passed away.
Today, May 19, 2007, marks twenty years since Archbishop Vlazny was appointed a diocesan bishop.
Recent Events
The Catholic Charities event on March 17 raised between $400,000 and $500,000.
The Pastoral Ministry Conference on April 25th had a good turnout, with many priests who came with their staff. Keynoter Carol Dempsey spoke on the theme of reconciliation.
Upcoming Events
This Friday is the Mass for deceased bishops and clergy. The Mass is traditionally celebrated on the date of the death of Archbishop Powers.
Memorial
Day Masses will be held at
June 13, 2007 has been designated as an extraordinary Ember Day for healing of victims of sexual abuse. The archbishop will preside at a service at the Cathedral on that day. Parishes are encouraged to hold their own services, or are invited to participate at the Cathedral service.
Our Lady of
the Dunes Parish in
Several parishes
and religious groups are celebrating significant anniversaries this year. It is the 125th anniversary of the
Benedictine sisters and monks.
The
diocesan golf tournaments are helping to build and maintain good relationships
with people. One is now held down
south. The northern
Permanent diaconate ordinations are scheduled for November 3, 2007.
The
bishop will lead a pilgrimage to
Easter will be early next year: March 23. Ash Wednesday is February 6.
The Oregon
Catholic Conference (OCC) is working to maintain a Catholic presence in
Archbishop’s Appeal
The Archbishop’s Catholic Appeal (ACA) continues to do well. As of May 4th, it was at 113% of the $3.3 million goal. There are more donors than last year and the average donation per household is up. The appeal is keeping diocesan ministries afloat. The prayer breakfasts for major donors will be held this fall rather than in January.
Fr. Dennis
O’Donovan reported. A press conference
was held on April 17, 2007 to announce the conclusion of the bankruptcy. The decree of dismissal from bankruptcy in
its entirety will likely come around August 1.
There are still some small reports to file and other details to
complete. The diocese has one year to
determine how to best restructure itself.
In Canon Law, each parish is a separate “juridic person”. An archdiocesan committee will be formed to
investigate how the diocese could be structured so that church law is best
reflected in
At this point, all of the claimants have been paid, including the trade creditors, who were paid with interest. A future claims fund with a $20 million cap is in place for twenty-three years. Currently, there is $2 million in the future claims fund with a $15 million letter of credit. Allied Irish has provided the financing.
Insurance companies paid $52 million toward the settlements. No parish properties or parish money was used to pay the settlements. Despite its difficulties, the bankruptcy has allowed the archdiocese to achieve some finality.
The
archdiocese will work toward healing and will continue to update its child
protection program. The diocese is
looking at a company called Praesidium to help provide training and education
on prevention of child sexual abuse. Cathy
Shannon continues to serve as the full-time Child Protection Officer for the
archdiocese. In November, the
archdiocese will be audited by an independent agency for compliance with the
The archbishop added that if he had it to do over again, even though it was not easy, he would indeed declare bankruptcy. As a result of the bankruptcy, insurance companies contributed significantly to the settlement and finality has been achieved. Parish monies were not used to pay the settlement.
The APC continued its discussion about the possibility of having a youth representative on the council. It was generally agreed that there would be many obstacles in having a (high school aged) youth serve on the council. The commitment would be difficult for a youth, even if it were only for one year. Instead of recommending that the archbishop separately appoint a youth member of the council, it was suggested that the council could recommend inviting a youth observer. The observer could come, especially if there were an issue on the agenda that concerned youth. The executive committee will discuss how best to make this happen.
The EMO discussion will be postponed until the end of the APC meeting.
Since
The meeting for the Marion County Vicariate will be held on June 30.
Purpose of the Annual Vicariate Meetings of Pastoral Councils
The purpose of the Annual Vicariate Meeting of Pastoral Councils is to enhance pastoral planning on the vicariate level. The annual meetings offer a way for the vicariate representative to bring feedback from the vicariate to the APC. They are intended for parish council members as well as parish staff. The meetings also help encourage parishes to maintain pastoral councils.
SMALL GROUPS
The archbishop spoke about encouraging the formation of parish small groups for Lent of 2008. The archdiocese can recommend materials and perhaps even recommend a theme such as reconciliation.
LUNCH 12pm to 1pm
Clint
Bentz, council chair, reported. The
Executive Committee met in early May and discussed several questions. As we exit bankruptcy, how can the
archdiocese continue to minister effectively with reduced staff? What is the Holy Spirit calling this council
to do? How can we continue to promote
the healing that needs to take place?
The Archdiocesan Pastoral Council (APC) should revisit the
The next
meeting of the APC is on Sept. 29, 2007.
This is a change from the previously scheduled date of Sept. 15. Please mark your calendars. As of this point, the meeting will take place
here at the
For those who have upcoming vicariate meetings, please discuss as a vicariate plans for the upcoming Ember Day. The bishop has asked all parishes to provide a prayer service or to somehow participate in the Ember Day.
GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES
The APC broke up into small groups to discuss the three goals of the document “Go and Make Disciples.” Goal number one is to bring about in all Catholics such an enthusiasm for their faith in Jesus that they freely share it with others. Goal number two is to invite all people to hear Christ’s message so they may join in the fullness of the Catholic faith. Goal number three is to foster Gospel values in our society so that it may be transformed by the saving power of Jesus.
APC members reflected on what they felt were some of the most important aspects of the three goals for the Archdiocese. Under Goal I, council members felt that facilitating a personal encounter with Christ was most important. Under Goal II, members suggested training Catholics to be evangelizers. Under Goal III, members highlighted immigration concerns and the integration of social justice ministry & teaching into parish life (See Attachment A for full results).
One of the members of the APC raised a question about why the Archdiocese is affiliated with Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO). EMO favors stem cell research, they opposed parental consent for abortion, and they are in favor of civil unions for same sex couples. By being involved with them, it seems that the Church is abandoning its values. Why are we allowing them to use our name?
EMO is a
vehicle for ecumenism. The goal of
ecumenism is to foster unity with other Christians. As Catholics, we have an obligation to be in
relation and dialogue with other churches.
EMO provides that opportunity.
Yes, the Archdiocese has its differences with EMO, and this makes the
relationship a challenging one. The
Catholic Church is very pro-life. Perhaps
we need to do a better job of clarifying and educating people about the nature
of our relationship with EMO. EMO does
not speak for the Archdiocese in matters of public policy. The new letterhead for EMO contains a
statement to that effect. The
legislators in
Despite the
challenges of the relationship, both of the two previous archbishops here in
APC RETREAT
Council chair, Clint Bentz, proposed the idea of an APC retreat – perhaps once a year or once per APC term (every three years). Council members expressed a desire to have a retreat and wanted to pursue the idea. Sr. Joyce Barsotti, Lois Cersovski, and Thom Faller will work together with Todd Cooper to develop a proposal.
The meeting concluded with a prayer led by John Cooper.
NEXT MEETING: Saturday, September 29, 2007, from 10am to
3pm at the
Respectfully submitted,
Todd Cooper
APC Staff
At the May
19, 2007 meeting of the APC, the council used the
The three goals of Go and Make Disciples
Goal I: To bring about in all Catholics such an enthusiasm for their faith that, in living their faith in Jesus, they freely share it with others.
Goal II: To invite all people in the
Goal III: To foster gospel values in our society, promoting the dignity of the human person, the importance of the family, and the common good of our society, so that our nation may continue to be transformed by the saving power of Jesus Christ.
21 Dots: Facilitate Personal Encounters With Christ
- (Goal I)
i. Provide programming and resources for small groups
ii. Assistance for the formation of new groups
iii. Leadership and facilitation training
iv. Resources for new converts, families, and marriage support groups
10 Dots: Train Catholics To Be Evangelizers – (Goal II)
10 Dots: Immigration Concerns – (Goal III)
10 Dots: Integrate Social Justice Ministry/Teaching
Into the Parish – (Goal III)
9 Dots: Family Faith Formation Activities – (Goal II)
9 Dots: Group To Help Formulate Public Responses – (Goal
II)
4 Dots: Use Deacons as Resource – (Goal II)
2 Dots: Responding to Felt Needs of Particular Groups – (Goal II)
2 Dots: Catholic Presence in Public Policy – (Goal
III)
1 Dot: Welcome From Start to Finish – (Goal II)
0 Dots: Fostering Positive View of the Catholic
Faith/Church – (Goal II)